Cytogenetic Study of the Leopard, Panthera pardus (Carnivora, Felidae) by Conventional Staining, G-banding and High-resolution Staining Technique

Abstract

This is a cytogenetic study of the leopard, Panthera pardus (Carnivora, Felidae). Blood samples were taken from 2 males and 1 female. After the standard whole blood lymphocyte culture in the presence of colchicine, the metaphase spreads were performed on microscopic slides and air-dried. Conventional staining, G-banding and high-resolution staining technique were applied to stain the chromosomes. The results showed that 2n (diploid) of leopard was 38, and the fundamental number (NF) was 72 in the male and female. There are 6 autosome types: A type had 4 large submetacentric and 2 medium submetacentric chromosomes, B type had 4 large acrocentric and 4 medium acrocentric chromosomes, C type had 2 large metacentric and 2 medium metacentric chromosomes, D type had 8 small submetacentric chromosomes, E type had 6 small metacentric chromosomes and F type had 4 small telocentric chromosomes. A pair of the short arm of chromosome E1 (chromosome pairs 14) showed a clearly observable satellite chromosomes. The X chromosome was small submetacentric chromosome and the Y chromosome was the smallest submetacentric chromosome. From the G-banding and high-resolution staining technique, the number of bands and locations in the leopard was 163 and 191 respectively, and each chromosome pair could be clearly differentiated. We found that chromosomes A1, B3, B4, C1, C2, D1, D3, E1, E2, E3, F1, F2, X and Y chromosome patterns were according to the domestic cat (Felis catus) chromosomes. Chromosomes A2, A3, B1, B2, D2 and D4 are similar to those of the domestic cat. These results show the evolutionary relationship between the leopard and domestic cat. The karyotype formula for the male and female leopard is as follows: 2n(38) = L₂^m + L₄^sm + L₄^a + M₂^m + M₂^sm + M₄^a + S₆^m + S₈^sm + S₄^t + sex chromosomes.